This invention is directed towards an impact tool useful in extracting ball valves from a ball-valve housing.
Ball valves are extensively used in industry to control and regulate the flow of fluid materials through pipelines and similar conduits. The ball valves are dimensioned according to the pipeline and may, therefore, vary enormously in size. Commonly used ball valves have an inner flow diameter openings which range from 1xe2x80x3 and may exceed 12xe2x80x3 depending upon the conduit size. A typical ball valve is seated within a housing and is secured opposite conduit openings by a pair of opposing rubber or silicone gaskets held in place by gasket holders. The ball valve is designed to rotate within the holder at least 90xc2x0 and thereby provide a means of regulating flow through a pipeline or conduit.
A ball valve is designed to fit within a housing and has tight dimensional tolerances so as to provide a secure, leak-proof seal. As a result, when repair or maintenance is required on the ball valve structure, the removal of the valve from the housing is a labor intensive endeavor. Heretofore, removal of a ball valve often required a specialized clamp-on tool as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,577, incorporated herein by reference, or as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,104 to Wilkins et al also incorporated herein by reference. The specialty tools referenced above require additional set up time.
A common removal technique also involves the use of pliers or a bar to pry the ball valve loose. However, prying and loosening of a ball valve using conventional hand tools may take as long as 40 to 45 minutes for removal. Further, the removal frequently damages the ball valve surface. Once damaged, the ball valve surface will degrade the integrity of the ball valve seals each time the surfaces make contact. As a result, more frequent repair and replacement of ball valve seals is required which necessitates additional ball valve removals and hence additional damage to the ball valve. Accordingly, there remains a need for improvement within the art of ball valve removal.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a process for the removal of ball valves. In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus and a process which facilitates the rapid removal of a ball valve and does so in a manner which avoids damage to any of the ball valve surfaces or associated seals.
Another aspect of this invention is to provide a ball valve removal tool which has a set of interchangeable tips to facilitate the use of the removal tool with a variety of different sized ball valves.
One embodiment of an apparatus for carrying out the ball removal process is provided by a ball valve removal tool comprising a shaft having a first end, a second end, and defining an axial length therebetween. The first end of the shaft defines a tip adapted for engaging the stem hole of a ball valve joint and a second end of the shaft defines a stop member. The removal tool further defines a handle, the handle operatively engaging in a rotatable and slideable manner the axial length of the shaft along an opening defined along the length of the handle. The tool may be used by inserting the first tip end of the shaft into the stem hole and securing the tip within the ball valve. Therefore, the handle is used to sharply impact the stop member, thereby delivering a force to the ball valve in the direction along the axis of the shaft. The force displaces the ball valve from the ball valve housing.
The above apparatus is useful in a method of removing a ball valve, a method of removal comprising providing a shaft having a first end and a second end, the first end defining a tip, the tip defining a pair of opposite edges, each edge extending beyond a surface plane of the shaft;
inserting the shaft tip into a stem hole of a ball valve;
rotating the shaft and thereby placing the tip engaging walls in an engaged position within the ball valve;
impacting a stop member carried on a second end of a shaft by sliding the handle from a first position in proximity to the shaft tip end to a second position which impacts the stop member, thereby releasing the ball valve from the ball valve housing.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims.